Meagan Davis Rides Toronto Lightfoot to Victory on Personal Best in Wellington CDI4* Grand Prix

Meagan Davis Rides Toronto Lightfoot to Victory on Personal Best in Wellington CDI4* Grand Prix
Meagan Davis and Toronto Lightfoot winning Wellington CDI4* Grand Prix on personal best score. © 2026 Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 26, 2026–Meagan Davis rode Toronto Lightfoot to a personal best score Thursday to win the Global Dressage Festival CDI4* Grand Prix, the fourth Big Tour victory for the American partnership so far this year.

Meagan and the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding scored 72.108% that was the third highest Grand Prix result for an active American partnership in the past 12 months–behind Christian Simonson on Indian Rock and Marcus Orlob on Jane.

The win for Meagan and Toronto, just 17 months into their Big Tour career, came the same day that Endel Ots and Zen Elite’s Bohemian claimed victory in the CDI3* Grand Prix on 69.261%. It was the pair’s first international competition since being reserve for the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics almost two years ago.

Adrienne Lyle in her first international outing on the 10-year-old Hussmanns Topgun was awarded 71.872% to win the CDI1* Prix St. Georges.

Zen Elite’s Bohemian ridden by Endel Ots to victory at Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival for first international competition in almost two years. © Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

Meagan of neighboring Loxahatchee said of her biggest win on Toronto owned by Scott Durkin, “Today we had true power in the test and that was really exciting to feel those hind legs up underneath my seat bones and ready whenever I asked. There was more power which is what we’ve been working towards every time we enter that ring, figuring out how we add the next component. And we had the energy, we had the hind leg and we had the softness over the top line.”

The immediate hope is to be selected for the U.S. Nations Cup team in Wellington Mar. 18-22 and then compete in the U.S. Grand Prix Championships in Ocala, Florida May 13-17. There, she hopes to become one of eight rider and horse combinations chosen to go to Europe ahead of the World Championships in Aachen, Germany, in August. If selected for Europe it will be Meagan’s first time as a senior for the rider, aged 36 to ride for the U.S. in Europe.

Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén, Sweden’s seven-time Olympian, was runner-up in the CDI4* on the 14-year-old Hyatt on a personal best 71.544%.

Endel Ots, based in Wellington, said of the ride on Bohemian, “You know, after two years and not being in there, I was really happy with him. He had a lot of gas. We increased his grain to be a little bit more energetic.

“He was like almost a little bit spooky and looky in there. And so I had a lot of power. I had a little hard time kind of directing it, positioning him in the places I’d want to, but I was really happy with his effort. He really tried.”

Endel, too, wants to compete in the Grand Prix national championship and “I really would like to do the World Games.”

The difference between 2024 and 2026, he said, “I think I felt a lot of pressure in 2024, and 2026 I’m really trying to have fun and really enjoy the time with him.”

Christian Simonson on the 16-year-old Fleau de Baian placed second on 69.065%.

Topgun with Adrienne Lyle riding in the horse’s first international competition, Prix St. Georges at Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival. © 2026 Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

Adrienne Lyle, a three-time Olympian for the U.S. including silver medal at the Tokyo Games, said it has been “a very slow build-up process” but “really fun” to get Topgun into the CDI arena for the first time.

“I’d love to get him to Europe, possibly this summer and get some exposure over there and keep getting him in the big environments while we keep kind of slowly picking away at the Grand Prix stuff with him,” she said of the Totilas offspring.

“I’ve said it his whole career, he’s a very powerful horse, he’s a very elastic horse, but his challenge has been that sometimes he can overpower himself and tension slips in, so that’s been our biggest goal is just to bring him along to get rid of the tension and build the strength and then he’ll tell us when he’s ready to move to the next step.”

Results:

CDI4* Grand Prix
RankCompetitorScoreEHCMB
1.
Meagan Davis (USA)
Toronto Lightfoot
72.108%70.21771.73974.89174.56569.130
2.
Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén (SWE)
Hyatt
71.544%71.19672.06571.08773.69669.674
3.
Ashley Holzer (USA)
Hawtins San Floriana
68.478%66.52270.32669.89170.32665.326
4.
Jennifer Williams (USA)
Joppe K
68.370%66.95768.37070.65269.45766.413
5.
Michael Klimke (GER)
Harmony’s Fado
67.152%66.73966.41368.26168.58765.761
6.
Jennifer Hoffmann (USA)
Rondoro Noblesse
65.239%63.58766.08766.84866.19663.478
7.
Shelly Francis (USA)
Dante
64.348%65.76165.21765.65263.80461.304
8.
Susan Dutta (USA)
Don Design DC
63.783%62.56563.87066.47864.41361.587
Find details on Equestrian Hub

 

CDI3* Grand Prix (Qual. for GP Special)
RankCompetitorScoreEHCMB
1.
Endel Ots (USA)
Zen Elite’s Bohemian
69.261%70.97870.97867.93570.21766.196
2.
Christian Simonson (USA)
Fleau de Baian
69.065%71.84867.60967.60968.80469.457
3.
Tina Konyot (USA)
Grover
68.913%71.73969.78366.84868.04368.152
4.
Jane Karol (USA)
Vioretta
68.391%70.54366.30469.23967.39168.478
5.
Michael Klimke (GER)
Harmony’s Dante’s Peak
67.739%67.06570.97867.60966.95766.087
6.
Emma Caecilia Lienert (GER)
Windermere J’Obei W
67.543%67.71766.73968.04367.71767.500
7.
Micah Deligdish (ISR)
Carpe Diem De Massa
67.522%67.39167.17466.73967.93568.370
8.
Ali Potasky (USA)
Inxs
67.196%68.47867.60963.47868.58767.826
9.
Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA)
Haute Couture
65.587%66.95765.87063.26167.60964.239
10.
Leonardo Antonio Godoy (ARG)
Marques Do Lis
64.522%66.19665.00063.15265.65262.609
11.
Denielle Gallagher (CAN)
Come Back de Massa
63.826%65.76164.45759.89164.23964.783
12.
Shelly Francis (USA)
Estero
61.935%61.52262.17460.54364.56560.870
EL
Katrina Sadis (USA)
Belloona
eliminated
Find details on Equestrian Hub

 

CDI1* Prix St. Georges
RankCompetitorScoreECM
1.
Adrienne Lyle (USA)
Hussmanns Topgun
71.872%71.17670.58873.853
2.
Laurence Blais Tétreault (CAN)
Lennon
69.314%69.41268.52970.000
3.
Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt (ESP)
Romántico Ymas
68.775%69.11868.23568.971
4.
Brittany Burson (USA)
Fiorenza
67.745%66.91268.38267.941
5.
Zhanzhao Gu (CHN)
Shakespeare 82
67.598%68.52968.23566.029
6.
Susan Dutta (USA)
Diamond Royal DC
67.451%65.88268.38268.088
7.
Akiko Yamazaki (USA)
Grey C Carrus
65.637%65.58865.88265.441
8.
Arlene Full Page (USA)
Bon Bijou
65.098%63.97166.17665.147
9.
Kelly Layne (USA)
Bit of Ritz
64.853%65.14764.11865.294
10.
Sven Steffens-Smienk (CAN)
Candoit’s Bentayga
64.510%65.73561.17666.618
11.
Luuk Mourits (NED)
Harmony’s Sarotti OLD
64.265%62.94163.38266.471
12.
Arlene Full Page (USA)
Jimagine De Massa
62.500%60.73561.02965.735
Find details on Equestrian Hub

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